Customer Reviews

Hell Can Wait

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hell Can Wait
by Theodore Judson
EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy; 1st edition (October 15, 2010)

Have you ever wondered what happened to Maternus, a Roman soldier who led a failed rebellion against the Emperor Commodus in 186 AD? Well, neither have I, but fortunately for readers Theodore Judson did and has written a brilliant, humorous fantasy about the bonds of friendship and the eternal nature of love.

Maternus has literally gone through Hell. A bureaucratic screw up kept him in this most undesirable place for close to 2,000 years. Eventually the mistake was caught, and Matt finds himself in the 21st Century where Mr Worthy, an angel, has decided that even though Matt was a thuggish, brutal Roman soldier he had also shown qualities of decency - like sparing the innocent and feeling a special love for a saucy young lady. It's therefore possible, says Mr. Worthy that Matt can earn redemption. The demon adversary Mr Banewell, not wishing to lose a resident, challenges this assumption. With some acrimony the two finally agree that Matt must pass three tests before entering the pearly gates.

As for locale these are the parameters:
"He has to be among the unfamiliar, in some nation that could not have existed in his lifetime. There have to be independent women who are able to stand up to him, and lots of bothersome children to distress him. Put him in an affluent place, somewhere that would not know or pardon his type of violence."

Mr Banewell suggests Aurora, Colorado, just outside Denver. Mr Worthy agrees.

To help Maternus (now known as Matthew August) make his way in this new world he is given the gift of literacy, however, his references are still to the 2nd century. Thus Mr. Worthy shows him a building with a cross on it and Matt assumes it must be a place of execution. While applying for a job as janitor at a middle school he is asked about previous employment. Matt answers honestly that he was in the army. His numerous scars attest to combat. Where did he fight?. Mesopotamia he answers and his educated audience nod in understanding. Matt is surprised to discover that war still rages in the area.

Because of his strange mannerisms and odd way of speaking Mr Worthy advices him, if asked, to say he is from Montana. This works.

It's tough going at times but Matt, with the help of a library card, educates himself, by reading all the great books. He even makes friends which is a new concept for him. These friends unwittingly help him with the difficult tasks assigned by his supernatural watchers.

This was a thoroughly delightful book that believably portrays Matt's fish-out-of-water experience in a modern day American suburb. Judson gets everything exactly right. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

Trading the skills of a spear for literacy seems awfully stupid for the ancient Roman Warrior. "Hell Can Wait" tells the story of Maternus, a Roman soldier stuck in the bureaucracy of hell for nearly two millenniums. When an angel and demon rage over his soul, Maternus faces a second chance, flung into modern Colorado, a place where fighting, the only thing Maternus knew, isn't as valued a skill as it once was. A fun fish out of water adventure with many twists, "Hell Can Wait" is sure to delight fantasy readers looking for a good laugh.

I read a review of this book online and just had to read it. Judson gets everything right in this telling of an ancient trying to reclaim his soul so he can spend forever with the woman he loves. Needing to pass three tests Roman warrior, Maternus is set down in modern times and expected to adapt. He does and we get to enjoy his fumblings and insights while he quests for answers. This is a modern day Pilgrim's Progress, an allegory for today and perhaps a parable. There is a message but we are not beaten over the head with it. It is an uplifting book.

This modern-day fantasy story is about a soldier from ancient Rome who has been given a second chance.

Maternus (mentioned in Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire") has spent the last 1800 years in Hell because his file was lost. When it is retrieved nd processed, he gets a chance to prove that he is not just a killing machine. When he was alive, there were a number of instances where Maternus would kill only those who deserved to die, and spare the innocent. But Mr. Worthy, and angel, and Banewill, a demon, make the stakes very clear to Maternus. If he loses his temper, and lets out his inner warrior, even once, a new, and very permanent, level of Hell will be created just for him. Is Maternus sent back to the days of the Roman Empire to show that his soul has not totally vanished? He is sent to present-day Aurora, Colorado.

Mr. Worthy sets up Maternus (now Matthew August) with an apartment, and a janitor job at the local middle school. Maternus is also given the ability to read, and he is introduced to the local public library, where he spends much of his time. There he meets Stephen and Shen, both residents of a local rooming house. Stephen, who is white, is one of those who is constantly writing letters to the editor of the local newspaper about some Major Crisis (next week it will be some other Major Crisis). Shen, who is black, is very handsome, and attracts the ladies like flies to honey. He is also a poet, performing at local poetry nights, which Maternus attends.

Mr. Worthy and Banewill give Maternus several seemingly impossible tasks to perform. They inlcude bringing some joy and companionship into the lives of Edith Pink, a student at the school where Maternus works, and Margaret Lambkin, a resident at a local nursing home. Both Edith and Margaret are the sort of people for whom the description "mean, rotten and nasty" is much too generous. Through it all in this strange new world, Maternus is comforted by the memory of Maria, a woman he met during his soldier days, and whom he has never forgotten.

This story is surprisingly good. It's got heart, it's got intelligence and it says a few things about present-day America. The reader will not go wrong with this one.

I read Hell Can Wait by Theodore Judson (EDGE, 2010) recently. This is a fun and fascinating read. The story is about a Roman soldier whose paperwork has been lost for 1800 years, and now an angel and a demon are each trying to get possession of him. To decide the matter, he is sent to contemporary America--Aurora, Colorado--where he has to learn about life--and people who aren't soldiers or enemies or emperors, pass some tests, and not lose his temper! This is hard for a soldier for whom fighting and killing is a habit. I really enjoyed the book--and his puzzlement about our culture and customs.

This is the first book I have read by Mr. Judson. It's a humorous commentary on American life, as compared to life for a Roman legionnaire.